Tamchui FAQs

List of 9 frequently asked questions.

Nominations are collected during the fall. When the nomination period is open, you can click the link on the right of any Tamchui page or find a link to nominate an organization on the resource page of the parent portal.

Tamchui, an Aramaic word, meaning "community collection pot/receptacle", dates back to medieval times when Jewish communities collected and allocated money and goods for the needs of the moment. Those who could give would give; those who were in need would take. Anyone who was in need, no matter where they lived, could take from the Tamchui. And everyone in the community was responsible for donating to the Tamchui based on what they could.

The Rashi School community has been participating in a modern-day Tamchui experience since 1996. The Tamchui Project is a two-week, all-school initiative that takes place around Purim – a traditional time for gift giving and supporting those in need. Instead of collecting food, Rashi parents, grandparents, faculty, and staff are invited to make a donation to the Rashi Purim Tamchui Fund that is then distributed among five non-profit organizations all over the world that are reaching out to children and their families in important and creative ways. Sometimes students and classes donate some of their own tzedakah to the Tamchui. The more donations that are given to the Tamchui, the greater the allocations are that we can give to these amazing organizations. To date, the Rashi community has supported over 95 child-centered organizations from all over the world and donated over $150,000!

A big goal of the Purim Tamchui Project is to develop young educated compassionate philanthropists. Connected to that goal is to expose students each year to the myriad needs of children and their families and how different non-profit organizations & programs are creatively responding and supporting these needs. Another big goal is to empower each child – after he/she has learned about the work of each organization and the children and families who benefit from this support – to reflect on the organizations and then have the hands-on opportunity to decide which organization(s) he/she is most drawn to and would like to support with her/her own Tamchui chips. A third big goal each year is to inspire our students to imagine what kind of tikkun olam work they might do one day to make the world better.

During the Education Weeks, each class learns about the organizations all week long. Over the course of our Education Weeks, the entire student body will meet face-to-face with representatives from each of the organizations they are learning about. On a visit day, representatives share their personal stories and experiences about the work they are doing and how children's lives are changed and in some cases – transformed – because of the impact/work of the organization.

The kindergarten students will be learning about FASI - Food Allergy Science Initiative - which works to find the cause and a cure for life-threatening food allergies, and Leket which executes safe, effective, and efficient collection and distribution of surplus food to those in need.

Tamchui Allocation Week empowers students to reflect on the organizations they have learned about the week before and then personally donate to them. On each day of Allocation Week, each student will receive one Tamchui "chip" to donate to the organization of his/her choice. It is up to each child to decide how he/she allocates his/her chips each day.

The Tamchui Donation area will be set up on the first floor in the Sukkat Shalom all week long. Students will visit the Tamchui Donation area each day during Allocation Week and have the opportunity to donate their chip. Additionally, students will have the opportunity each day to add comments and pictures to a variety of murals that will pose different prompts to expand and deepen their thinking about Tamchui and the organizations this year.

Each year, the entire school gathers together in a special assembly to celebrate the culmination of Tamchui and the fantastic learning and connections with the organizations that have taken place. There is much ruach (spirit) and joy in the room and there are always a few great surprises when we announce the grand total of the Tamchui donations. We enthusiastically invite you to join your child for a memorable finish to our Purim Tamchui!